Race to the Top bill awaits action

By Jon Ralston

Monday, March 8, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

Gov. Jim Gibbons has yet to sign some of the major bills of the special session, including the main budget bill and the Race to the Top federal funding measure. The former is a lock to be signed — he’s probably just waiting to milk it as he files (we assume) for re-election this week. The latter is the more interesting one. His staff initially said the governor would not sign Race to the Top because lawmakers did not simply strike 15 words that prevented student data from being used to evaluate teachers. They added 31 new words that emphasized such data cannot be the sole criterion. So that was a sure veto, I was told. But then, it seems, politics came into play. If he vetoed it, might Gibbons look petty or anti-education? And he would have to call yet another session. So therein lies the indecision. What will he do? My guess: Sign it. Otherwise, time to pack the warm clothes again for a capital visit.